September 14, 2008

The other 25% of me is like, WTF? Reading this letter, you get the impression that sexism has had no impact on the race. The only context sexism is mentioned is in DV shelters, and only once, and only in the context of other work you do.

Because “Obama’s Baby Mama” isn’t sexism as well? Because the supposed PUMA’s are not only an astroturf ploy to hurt Obama through racism, but also the democratic party through sexism (in the “white women are whiny, racist, self-centered, and can’t get over sour grapes” sense)? Because the sexist bullshit about Clinton and now Palin isn’t alienating women/feminist voters who would otherwise be a lot more enthusiastic about the Obama campaign and the democratic party in general? Because it would be a “distraction”? Because oppression only matters when it’s convenient to our political agenda to address?

It’s not an either/or. And no, you don’t just get to say that to racist radfems and use it as an excuse for the same behavior. And while I think that focusing on racism is important, the extent to which [frequently white] anti-racist activists seek to divorce it, and in fact oppose it to sexism and use sexism to “fight racism” is extremely alienating, even when it’s done by women. For example, an article on Huffpo linked from above site:

The self-proclaimed ‘pit bull in lipstick’ will claw his eyes out while wearing black boots and clutching a whip …Barack probably won’t attack her, because he is not running against her and he is too much of a gentleman… But is it OK for Biden to be an angry Irishman and attack Catwoman?

hey thanks for engaging with our “open letter” and blog. your concerns, questions and critiques are super valid, and i’m glad that you are highlighting the intersectionality of racism and sexism. i am one of the organizers of AWARE-LA, a queer woman, and can say that as an organization we are invested to fighting multiple forms of oppression as they all intersect. we’re also an explicitly anti-racist white organization… meaning that’s the “entry point” for our discussion on oppression- to encourage white people to build anti-racist communities. also, in our defense, some of the issues you pointed out about the category cloud are because the blog is very new – so some other issues haven’t been covered yet; doesn’t mean they won’t. thanks again for engaging!